Easiest Division? Check. Easiest Conference? Check. Easiest Schedule? ranked 32nd toughest. Check

[mosslost]

Yeah baby.

 

[mosslost]

Bills fans be like "our 4 straight SB record getting tied"? Check

 

[Clonamery]

Check, please!

 

[oldrover]

Patriots haters be like...



https://imgflip.com/gif-maker

 

[Joey007]

Love the new avi

 

[BobDigital]

We hear this just about every year it seems. The issue with being the best team is you don't play anyone better than you. Not their fault.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

The schedule ranking stuff is nonsense.

The strength rating is low because the PATRIOTS do not have to play the PATRIOTS.

Think of it this way, with respect to NE, MIA, NYJ and BUFF.

-All of them play the whole NFC East.
-All of them play the whole AFC North.
-All of them play each other, home and home.
-NE plays last year's 1st place teams in the AFC South and AFC Central, MIA the 2nd place teams, BUFF the 3rd place teams, NYJ the 4th place teams, and thus NE faces (most likely) somewhat tougher opposition in those games.

So by every conceivable angle but one, NE has the same or a slightly tougher route than MIA, NYJ, and BUFF.

That one factor: the PATRIOTS do not have to play the PATRIOTS, which drops them to last, since they are "ducking" the best, themselves!

STOOOOOOOPID logic.

 

[PatsFan2]

When Brady decided not to retire Bill fans Jet fan and Dolphin fans all did this.

 

[Bonzo]

The fact that nobody knows how the schedule is actually going to shake out notwithstanding...

No idea if the statistics bear this out, I've always considered stiffer competition in the regular season better preparation for the postseason. (And division opponents are always tough outs, record be damned.)

 

[mosslost]

NFL.COM Power ranking of us and our Division opponents? 1...22...23...32

Yeah

 

[PatsFan2]

Rivals enjoy.

Category:AFC East championship seasons - Wikipedia

 

[mosslost]

We hear this just about every year it seems. The issue with being the best team is you don't play anyone better than you. Not their fault.

I love me the Pats.. But there is NO Question the horrifically bad competition we have had for the entire Belichick Brady run, even when we sucked in 2000.

1. NO team other than the Patriots have ever won more than 11 during this stretch in AFCE
2. Another team winning 11 games has ONLY happened like 3 times during that stretch
3. There have been a few 10 game winners, but just a few during that stretch.
4. No team has ever in AFCE during that stretch had that "stand out" aberrant great season, where they rise up and grab 12, 13, or more wins. (That has happened in every other division in the league, where teams like the 12-4 colts are a wild card team, or the 12-4 Ravens, or the 12-4 Chargers.

Teams like the Ravens 13-3 with McNair, 14-2 Chargers, 13-3 Chiefs, 13-3 Cowboys, 15-1 Panthers, 13-3 14-2 Falcons, and on and on... there's more.

Only THREE times did an AFCE team reach 11 wins in the entire Brady Belichick stretch. It is very real and almost statistically bizarre.

 

[mosslost]

The schedule ranking stuff is nonsense.

The strength rating is low because the PATRIOTS do not have to play the PATRIOTS.

Think of it this way, with respect to NE, MIA, NYJ and BUFF.

-All of them play the whole NFC East.
-All of them play the whole AFC North.
-All of them play each other, home and home.
-NE plays last year's 1st place teams in the AFC South and AFC Central, MIA the 2nd place teams, BUFF the 3rd place teams, NYJ the 4th place teams, and thus NE faces (most likely) somewhat tougher opposition in those games.

So by every conceivable angle but one, NE has the same or a slightly tougher route than MIA, NYJ, and BUFF.

That one factor: the PATRIOTS do not have to play the PATRIOTS, which drops them to last, since they are "ducking" the best, themselves!

STOOOOOOOPID logic.

It's very true about the AFCE

 

[Kargetina]

Those checks are interesting but i have one better:

Brady & Belichick, Mate.

 

[mosslost]

The fact that nobody knows how the schedule is actually going to shake out notwithstanding...

No idea if the statistics bear this out, I've always considered stiffer competition in the regular season better preparation for the postseason. (And division opponents are always tough outs, record be damned.)

It's about the seeding and this is born out statistically. Most of the time by a high percentage the 1 or 2 seed from either conference makes the SB. By a very high percentage. So it is definitely a big advantage to have an easy schedule, especially obviously if you are in fact good.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

It's very true about the AFCE

What's very true? That the Patriots don't have to play themselves?

Sure it is.

Other wise, the schedule of NE > the schedules of MIA, BUFF, and NYJ.

 

[mosslost]

What's very true? That the Patriots don't have to play themselves?

Sure it is.

Other wise, the schedule of NE > the schedules of MIA, BUFF, and NYJ.

no that there has never been good competition for the Patriots in their division for the entire run of Belichick Brady, never.

 

[Bonzo]

It's about the seeding and this is born out statistically. Most of the time by a high percentage the 1 or 2 seed from either conference makes the SB. By a very high percentage. So it is definitely a big advantage to have an easy schedule, especially obviously if you are in fact good.

That's fair enough. But there was that graphic floating around a couple days ago - I don't recall the full details -- showing how much better the Pats have been against teams with a winning record than anybody else. (Iirc, Steelers were next, and they were a distant second.) Their winning percentage against "good" teams was almost as high as their overall winning percentage.

 

[50-yard-line]

The schedule ranking stuff is nonsense.

The strength rating is low because the PATRIOTS do not have to play the PATRIOTS.

Think of it this way, with respect to NE, MIA, NYJ and BUFF.

-All of them play the whole NFC East.
-All of them play the whole AFC North.
-All of them play each other, home and home.
-NE plays last year's 1st place teams in the AFC South and AFC Central, MIA the 2nd place teams, BUFF the 3rd place teams, NYJ the 4th place teams, and thus NE faces (most likely) somewhat tougher opposition in those games.

So by every conceivable angle but one, NE has the same or a slightly tougher route than MIA, NYJ, and BUFF.

That one factor: the PATRIOTS do not have to play the PATRIOTS, which drops them to last, since they are "ducking" the best, themselves!

STOOOOOOOPID logic.

THIS!

The schedule isn't pulled out of a hat. They already know 14 of the Patriots games next year, the year after that, the year after that (same as this year), etc.

It's pure idiocy to think otherwise.

This is a good year, schedule-wise for the Pats, as they don't have much travel (Miami will be their longest flight, I think). having said that, the Eagles, the Cowboys, the Steelers, the Ravens, the Brown, the Chiefs, and the Texans could all be tough outs.

Well, maybe not the Texans.

As for their divisional competition, there's always this: The Myth of the Easy AFC East, the Definitive Guide | Patriots Dynasty

And I'll add that part of the reason the other teams are a shambles is BECAUSE of the Patriots run. Same was true of the AFCS when the Colts were running with Manning.

AFCE coaches can't win the division with the Pats there, so the owners keep turning over coaches to keep the fans excited. Similarly, these coaches try to build teams to beat the Pats particularly, which is really a bad thing to do.

Like the Jets: "Let's draft another DL to get to Brady! We've only spent 87 1st round picks in a row on them. One more will do it!!!!!!"

This thread is a testament to Felger&Mazz. I caught a few minutes of them in the car yesterday and Mazz was easily the biggest idiot I've heard in years. he outdid himself with his whining about the Patriots home record against the AFCE with Brady QB'ing since 2006.

Umm, why didn't someone show him the Patriots' home record period with Brady QB'ing since 2006?

 

[mosslost]

THIS!

The schedule isn't pulled out of a hat. They already know 14 of the Patriots games next year, the year after that, the year after that (same as this year), etc.

It's pure idiocy to think otherwise.

This is a good year, schedule-wise for the Pats, as they don't have much travel (Miami will be their longest flight, I think). having said that, the Eagles, the Cowboys, the Steelers, the Ravens, the Brown, the Chiefs, and the Texans could all be tough outs.

Well, maybe not the Texans.

As for their divisional competition, there's always this: The Myth of the Easy AFC East, the Definitive Guide | Patriots Dynasty

And I'll add that part of the reason the other teams are a shambles is BECAUSE of the Patriots run. Same was true of the AFCS when the Colts were running with Manning.

AFCE coaches can't win the division with the Pats there, so the owners keep turning over coaches to keep the fans excited. Similarly, these coaches try to build teams to beat the Pats particularly, which is really a bad thing to do.

Like the Jets: "Let's draft another DL to get to Brady! We've only spent 87 1st round picks in a row on them. One more will do it!!!!!!"

This thread is a testament to Felger&Mazz. I caught a few minutes of them in the car yesterday and Mazz was easily the biggest idiot I've heard in years. he outdid himself with his whining about the Patriots home record against the AFCE with Brady QB'ing since 2006.

Umm, why didn't someone show him the Patriots' home record period with Brady QB'ing since 2006?

>>This thread is a testament to Felger&Mazz.

I agreed with almost all what you posted except this. Everything I posted about the AFCE is 100% true, and I'm frankly glad to be in this division.

We never have to deal with the outlier "15-1 Panthers" and be a 12-4 wild card team, or the "13-3" Chiefs, or some other aberant strong season team. It has happened multiple times in all the other divisions. It has never happened in the AFCE since 2000.